Volleyball Association of Ireland

The Irish men's volleyball squads are opening its doors once again to any interestedplayers in joining its Senior and Junior teams, with a view to building and expanding the pool of selectable players for each squad during the 2010-2011 season.

The trial for the Junior team will take place on Sunday June 27th in the UCD Sports Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4, from 10am to 5pm. The trial is open to all Irish AND non-Irish players who are between 15 and 20 years of age.

The trial for the Senior team will then take place on Sunday July 4th again in the UCD Sports Centre from 10am to 5pm. This trial is also open to all Irish and non-Irish players who are at least 18 years of age, targeting in particular players who play (or who have played) Premier League volleyball in Ireland or of a similar/higher standard in any other country.

Players who would consider themselves as determined to develop and can commit on a regular basis are asked to apply and/or make aware their interests to us as soon as possible, submitting your name, contact details, experience and any other information they feel necessary, to seniormen@volleyballireland.com

The Irish Senior Mens Volleyball Squad fly home today after being pipped by the Faroe Islands in an epic five set encounter in Andorra yesterday. 

Nothing separated the teams going into the last set, and in the end, only two points were the difference in the Islander's favour.

While the results over the past week did not go the way the Irish would have liked, the Squad return to Dublin with their heads held high, each vowing that this is just the beginning of a new adventure for Irish Volleyball.

Team Manager David Herlihy was full of praise for the teams performance; 'Our boys are going home as heros. I'm pleasured to have witnessed such pride in the Irish jersey and honoured to have been involved with these lads. Aside from a gutting result in the end, these boys have given everything to their country and there is plenty more to come over the years.'

Libero Tommy Kilfeather from the Aer Lingus Jets Volleyball Club agrees;'Gutted sums up the feeling we're experiencing right now but the spirit in this team is strong and there is a lot of youth on our side so we'll definitely be back to these championships in two years time so the heads are unbowed and the spirit remains unbroken.' 

The future looks bright as the Irish look forward to returning to the International stage. Preparations are already underway, with the next round of trials for the Junior Squad taking place next Sunday in University College Dublin. 

Irish hope to end on a high

The Irish go into their last qualification match today against the Faroe Islands today at 3pm (Irish time) on the back of the proudest of performances imaginable whilst donning the tri-colour. Indeed, the Andorran press and coaching staff have been very quick to credit this in this morning’s Andorran newspapers, highlighting in particular to the Irish team’s 2nd set performance yesterday against the hosts.

Today’s opponents have impressed similarly, although they have, like the Irish, yet to win a match or a set yet. The highlight of the Faroe Islands’ campaign so far was taking Scotland all the way to 28-30 yesterday in the 3rd set of their fixture, Scotland winning 3-0. So they will be hoping for a repeat of that performance today against the Irish.

This should be a very exciting match between the group’s two bottom teams, but determination is rocketing in the Irish camp for a big performance towards earning a landmark victory which would become their first since 2003 when the existence of the Irish men’s squad ceased temporarily. Aside from the usual knocks and aches after yesterday’s encounter with the Cypriots, the Boys in Green are once again refreshed and at full strength. Make sure you join us between 2:30 and 3pm for our exciting point-by-point live commentary.

 

Scottish Break Irish Hearts

The Irish Senior Mens Volleyball Squad suffered a 3-0 defeat to Scotland at the CEV European Small Nations Qualifiers in Andorra last night. While the result was a disappointment, the match itself was significant, as it signaled a return to competitive action for the Irish Squad after a break of almost seven years from the international scene. 

Head Coach Laurent Cauet commented that: 'As our first game, it was always going to be difficult. Even though we had some well contested rallies to start the match, Scotland quickly took control and created a gap in the score.' Despite the gap in international experience between the two sides, Coach Cauet continues 'we kept on fighting'.

Irish Captain Joe O'Keefe from the Ballymun Patriots Volleyball Club had high praise for the victors. O'Keeffe notes 'They were fantastic in defense-no mater what we threw at them, they had bodies flying all over the place to pick everything up'.

O'Keeffe;s clubmate at Ballymun Patriots, Alex Gibbons, was disappointed with the result, but believes there is more to come from the Irish. 'While there were certain things that we can build on, there are certainly a lot of great positives to be taken from the match'.

Despite the result, debutant Andrew McCarthy from University College Cork Volleyball Club was delighted with the way the team jelled. 'It was my first game on such a stage and I really felt spurred on by the team spirit amongst us, we fought hard for everything.

While this match was noted as being the first for the Irish in almost seven years, it was also noted as the first competitive volleyball match to be featured in a live text format on the Irish Squad's Twitter and Facebook pages. With a team of back-room staff working court-side and back in Ireland, all of the action was relayed to the Irish fans who could not make the trip.

The Irish continue their Andorran adventure today with a double header against the hosts Andorra, followed by their encounter with favourites Cyprus.

As with all of the Irish matches, they can be followed on both their Twitter http://twitter.com/IrishVolleyball and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Irish-National-Mens-Volleyball-Squads/107302629560?ref=ts pages.